Large batches of curry sauce are made daily at Indian restaurants around the UK.
My Latest and Favourite Base Curry Sauce Recipe is in my New Hardbound Cookbook!
Back by popular demand, here is my original recipe for a large batch of Indian restaurant style curry sauce. I took it off the site about a year ago due to issues with my ebook, but I’ve decided to post it again. I’m going to be many more restaurant style recipes that require this base curry sauce.
Here are a few curry house style recipes you can use this sauce in now!
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Korma
Chicken Madras
Chicken Dhansak
Lamb Rogan Josh
Lamb Vindaloo
Chicken Chilli Garlic
Chicken Patia
Lamb Bhuna
Watch me make some base sauce in the video below. It’s a slightly newer recipe.
Of course you could always use my small batch version, but if you really want to achieve that authentic curry house and/or balti house flavour, you’ve got to go large.
Visit the kitchen of any busy curry house and you are almost certain to see a large saucepan of curry sauce/gravy simmering away on the stove. This sauce is used as a base for most of the restaurant’s curries. Each restaurant has their own special recipe but they are usually quite similar. The base sauce makes it possible for chefs to cook, plate and serve many different curries quickly and easily.
This smooth curry sauce is just one of the things that give British Indian restaurant (BIR) style curries their distinctive flavour and texture that is loved by so many. Cooking curries in a more authentic Indian style just wouldn’t be possible in most restaurants as it would be too labour intensive, overly time consuming and not cost effective.
I like to describe the curry sauce as a fancy vegetable stock. It doesn’t have a lot of flavour though it does taste good. Add some chicken, cumin, garam masala, a large heap or two of chili powder, mango chutney and a few other ingredients and you’ve got yourself a chicken madras. Keep the chili powder to a minimum and add some cream, block coconut, rose water and a dusting of cardamom powder and voila… a fragrant chicken korma.
Stay tuned for all the upcoming recipes. Together with this sauce you will be able to create curries better than you’ll find at most restaurants. I guarantee it!
Check out this photo and copy it. Your sauce will be perfect. Only use about half of the cabbage. Any cabbage will do.
Fry your onions over low heat in the hot oil for about 30 minutes.
Your onions should look like this when you add the next ingredients.
The spices – cumin, coriander, garam masala, fenugreek and turmeric
Toss in the rest of your vegetables and stir into the onions.
Add the garlic and ginger and stir it in.
Now stir in the tomatoes
In go the spices except for the turmeric
It’s coming along just perfectly.
Add enough boiling water to cover and simmer for 20 – 30 minutes.
Time to blend.
After about three minutes of blending, the base curry sauce should look like this.
In another pan, melt your ghee and then add the turmeric.
Add the turmeric and ghee to the sauce and stir in.
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- 10 large cooking onions – finely sliced
- 250ml vegetable oil
- 9 tablespoons garlic/ginger paste (equal amounts garlic and ginger blended into a paste with a little water.)
- 1 carrot - peeled and chopped
- ¼ head of cabbage - chopped
- 1 red capsicum (bell pepper) - diced
- 1 green capsicum (bell pepper) - diced
- water
- 400ml (14 US fluid ounces ) chopped tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 tablespoon garam masala powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon fenugreek powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- Salt and pepper to taste (I usually leave this out and simply add it to the final dish)
- Pour the oil into a large heavy bottomed saucepan and heat over medium high heat until bubbling.
- Throw in the sliced onions and fry, stirring regularly for about 20 minutes until the onions are soft, lightly browned and translucent.
- Add the capsicums (bell peppers), carrot and cabbage and stir to combine.
- Fry for a further five minutes and then add the ginger and garlic purees and the all of the spices except for the turmeric.
- Now add the tomatoes and just enough water (about 2 cups/ 500ml) to cover the vegetables and simmer for about half an hour.
- After 30 minutes, remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Scoop the mixture in batches into a blender and blend until silky smooth. I usually do this for about three minutes per batch. If you have a hand held blender, this stage will be much easier.
- Once your sauce is smooth, melt the ghee in a frying pan. Add the turmeric powder to the ghee. It will darken as it cooks. You want to brown it for about 30 seconds being careful not to burn the turmeric.
- Now add the turmeric/ghee mixture to the sauce and bring to a simmer again.
- Once it is bubbling away, turn down the heat and simmer for a further 20 to 30 minutes
- Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to three days or freeze in 750ml (3 cups) portions for up to three months.